Peru · CORDILLERA BLANCA TREKS
Sixteen peaks over 6,000 metres in one range, and Huaraz sitting underneath it. These 15 cover Laguna 69, the Santa Cruz crossing and the glacier days, priced, with the acclimatisation each one assumes.
From Huaraz, spend about 9.5 hours visiting Parco, Pato Cocha Lake, Puma Pampa, Puya Raimondi, San Patricio Cave, and Pastoruri Glacier. Expect an hour-long hike from Pumapashimin lagoon, a Spanish-speaking guide who may speak limited English, lunch at your own cost, and a S/30 entrance fee.
“it was amazing weather and we saw beautiful nature definitely recommend”
Leave Huaraz at 5:00 am for a full-day trip through Andean villages and Huascarán National Park. Stop at Llanganuco Lake, then hike about three hours from Cebollapampa to Lake 69. A guide, hotel pickup, and group transport are included, while food and the park fee cost extra.
“Well organised! The agency was really great. However, the guide wasn't speak very well English.”
Leave Huaraz at 6:00 am for Lake Parón, traveling through Carhuaz, Yungay, and Caraz with a Spanish-speaking guide and a group of up to 15 people. After reaching 4,170 meters, walk about 40 minutes to a viewpoint above the glacial lake. Bring food, pay the national park fee separately, and expect a long day.
“Un lugar mágico, vale la pena cada kilómetro para ver este majestuoso lugar, buen acompañamiento de los guías, gran experiencia”
Travel from Huaraz through Recuay, Ticapampa, and Catac to Pastoruri Glacier. You’ll see Puya Raimondi plants, Pumapampa’s gasified waters, the Lake of Seven Colors, cave paintings, and high-altitude lagoons. Hotel pickup, transport, and a guide are included, but lunch and the Huascarán National Park fee cost extra.
“Inolvidable. Puntuales y muy organizados. Deben prepararse bien para la altura, son más de 5,000 msnm/ 17,900 pies de altura. Recomiendo subir a caballo porque el tiempo apenas alcanza para disfrutarlo si subes todo recorrido a pie. Ver un glaciar es algo inolvidable.”
Travel from Huaraz through the Callejón de Huaylas to Carhuaz, the Yungay Cemetery, and Chinancocha Lake in Llanganuco Valley. You get transport and a guide, with basic English advertised, but Spanish is the safer choice. Budget $33 plus the S/35 entrance fee and lunch. Expect a long day with scenic stops and shopping visits.
“Dans l’ensemble le tour est intéressant mais plusieurs éléments sont problématiques. De longues explications sont apportées par le guide, mais tout en espagnol alors que nous avions réservé un tour en anglais. Tout est également fait pour pousser le touriste à la consommation. Par exemple, le premier arrêt a lieu devant une glacerie et le dernier chez un potier. On nous a même vendu une dégustation gratuite de bières et de produits de la région. En y arrivant, il n’y avait absolument rien de gratuit et l’on se rend vite compte que le but est de nous faire acheter leurs produits plus chers qu’ailleurs. L’encouragement à faire des selfies devant…”
Leave Lima at 5 a.m. for a Spanish-guided mountain day with Checta Petroglyphs, Cochapampa viewpoint, Laguna de Chuchun, Laguna Ocho, Laguna Leoncocha, La Viuda views, Huaros trout farming, Canta, and Santa Rosa de Quives. Guides may include Wilma, Alejandro, Gabo, or Edgar. Expect basic transport, long roads, and a 9 p.m. return.
“excelente atención en todo momento por Alejandro y Gabo”
Travel from Huaraz through Carhuaz and Caraz to Paron Lagoon in a small Spanish-speaking group of up to 10 people. Walk beside turquoise water beneath Artesonraju, Piramide Garcilaso, and Caraz, then climb for about 40 minutes to a wide viewpoint. Guide Junior is especially attentive, though meals and boat rentals cost extra.
“Very good and the guide, Junior, was very attentive at all times and made the journeys very enjoyable. The lagoon is a spectacle, I recommend going up to the viewing point, at first it seems a lot but the climb is really pleasant for people who go to the mountains from time to time.”
Leave Huaraz around 5:00am for a full-day hike to Laguna 69 at 4,604 meters. You will pass Yungay, Llanganuco Lakes, and high Andean valleys before a three-hour climb to the turquoise lake. Spanish and English guiding is available, and French-speaking guide Carlos has led some departures.
“El guía fue muy claro con tiempos y exigencias de la ruta, lo cual es de agradecer. El resto lo esperado, una auténtica pasada.”
Travel from Huaraz through Recuay, Ticapampa, and Catac to Huascarán National Park. See Pumashimin, the Lake of Seven Colors, nearby cave paintings, and Pastoruri Glacier after a 40 to 60 minute high-altitude walk. English and Spanish guides are available, with a private option that includes lunch and a scenic stop.
“precisa de preparo físico!! a altitude pega bastante, mas tem cavalos que podem ajudar a subir.”
Leave Lima early for Marcahuasi with guide Carlos, traveling through winding Andean roads to San Pedro de Casta at 3,500 meters. After a short ride onward, take a roughly 2.5-hour walk among striking rock formations said to resemble people, animals, and other figures. Breakfast, water, transport, and a live English or Spanish guide are included.
“The most magical place I have ever seen. Truly breathtaking. Carlos was an amazing guide, very respectful and attentive. I highly recommend.”
Leave Huaraz at 5:00 AM for Huascarán National Park, stop at the Llanganuco lakes, then hike 8 km to Laguna 69 at 4,620 meters. You get about 30 minutes at the lake. English or Spanish guiding, hotel pickup, and a private option with lunchbox are available.
“The walk was very good. The bad thing is that you didn't pick me up at the hotel nor did you leave me at the hotel on the way back... which is what you had indicated. I think it's not a walk for everyone and the schedule should be respected.”
Leave Huaraz around 4:00 to 5:00 a.m. for Huascaran National Park, then hike uphill for more than two hours to turquoise Laguna 69. A bilingual guide leads the walk, with time for photos and a short rest before returning to Huaraz around 8:00 p.m. Bring cash for lunch and park admission.
Travel from Huaraz by minibus to Patococha Lagoon, Pumapampa’s hot springs, and the remarkable Puya Raimondi plants before walking 45 minutes to Pastoruri Glacier at more than 5,000 meters. A Spanish-speaking guide, hotel transport, small groups, and a flexible cancellation policy are included. Lunch and the S/30 national park fee cost extra.
Travel from Huaraz through the Huaylas Valley to Lake Parón, one of the Cordillera Blanca’s largest glacial lakes. You’ll stop in Carhuaz, Marcara, Yungay, and Caraz, then reach more than 13,500 feet. Choose a private tour for a lunchbox by the lake. English and Spanish guides are available.
Leave Huaraz around 8:00 am for Paron Lagoon in Huascaran National Park. Your Spanish-speaking guide leads a small group of up to 10 through Carhuaz and Caraz, then along an unpaved mountain road to turquoise water, Andean flora, and views of Artesonraju, Piramide Garcilazo, and Caraz. Return around 6:00 pm.
Pick a ruin, a ridge, a river or a table.
